Civil Rights

Burton Craige

Partner

Burton received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 1971 and a Masters in Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina in 1974. After working as an administrator and consultant for rural health clinics in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee, he received his law degree, with high honors, from UNC in 1980.

Before entering private practice in Raleigh in 1984, Burton was a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He has served as President of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, President of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, Chair of the ACLU-NC Legal Committee, Treasurer of Legal Aid of North Carolina, Co-Chair of the Civil Procedure Study Commission, and Vice-Chair of the Indigent Defense Services Commission. He currently serves as Legal Affairs Counsel for the North Carolina Advocates for Justice.

In addition to his professional work, Burton has served as Chair of the board of the Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood and as a volunteer tutor/mentor for elementary school students through Wake County Communities in Schools.

Burton has received the Walter Clark Award from the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers and the W.W. Finlator Award from the Wake County Chapter of the ACLU of North Carolina. He was selected as a member of Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite in the area of Litigation, is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Labor and Employment and Personal Injury, and in Super Lawyers in the area of Appellate Practice. His practice includes civil rights and appellate advocacy.

Areas of Practice:

Education:

University of North Carolina School of Law, J.D. with High Honors, 1980

University of North Carolina, Masters in Public Health, 1974

Harvard University, B.A., 1971

Notable Cases:

Dwayne Dail v. City of Goldsboro (E.D.N.C. 2013). Civil rights suit by Dwayne Dail, who served 18 years in prison for a rape he did not commit. Goldsboro Police Department misplaced the DNA evidence that eventually exonerated Dail. $7,520,000 settlement.

Craig v. New Hanover Board of Education, 678 S.E.2d 351 (N.C. 2009). Reversing the Court of Appeals, N.C. Supreme Court unanimously held that a citizen may bring a claim under the State Constitution if other potential claims are barred by sovereign immunity.

Robinson v. Department of Correction (N.C. Office of Administrative Hearings, 1998). State employee was sexually harassed by her supervisor. In response to her case, legislature enacted law giving state employees the right to bring claims of harassment based on sex and race under State Personnel Act. N.C.G.S. § 126-34.1(a)(10).

Steele v. Anson County Hospital (W.D.N.C. 1990). Pregnant woman died after she was refused treatment at emergency department of rural hospital. First successful suit in North Carolina under Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act.

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